Covenant News
Missions Awareness Conference Under Way in Congo
GBADO-LITE, CONGO (August 19, 2002) - Some 200 church leaders are meeting here this week as part of the International Missions Conference organized by the Congo Covenant Church (CEUM).
The leaders come from the heart of Africa (Congo-Brazza, Central African
Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo), according to Pete Ekstrand, who
along with wife, Cindy, serve as Africa coordinators for the Department of
World Mission of the Evangelical Covenant Church with offices in Chicago,
Illinois.
"Representatives of the Pygmy, Fulani (Mbororo), Zande and other unreached people groups will be present to testify to the ongoing need for the Gospel," said Fohle Lygunda, CEUM mission facilitator. "Our hopes for an effective conference have been growing since the beginning of our preparations in 2001. Many are praying for this great historic gathering in the heart of Africa, a heart that has been decimated by wars and divisions (ethnic and denominational)."
Fohle requested prayer for the conference, in particular:
- For peace in central Africa in general and Gbado-Lite in particular
- For the spread of the information about the conference throughout the churches of the three represented countries
- For participants and speakers
- For the logistics involved in transportation, meals and supplies
- For a spiritual awakening in the lives of participants and their churches
Participants and speakers include Fohle Lygunda, the organizer and conference initiator; Jerome Nelson of the Central Conference, one of the speakers; Darryl Johnson from Mound Bayou, Mississippi, who also will be speaking; and Mossai Sanguma, a doctoral student at Fuller Seminary who is attending the conference. One pastor is from the Buenas Noticias church in Equatorial Guinea.
The conference is scheduled to conclude August 23. The accompanying photo shows a group leaving Bangui to attend the first-ever missions awareness conference, traveling for two days in a former Swiss military vehicle.
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